Issue #51

Jan/Feb 2006

This 279-page book is filled with some of the most useful information about modern recording that I have seen. The author Bill Gibson is well informed. He has an easy to understand writing style and has written a book that can be used again and again as a reference book. Whether you work your way through all of the S.M.A.R.T. Guides or simply focus on this one, you'll be on the right track to improving your technical and artistic skills. Included with this book is a DVD that has 50 audio and 20 video examples of some of the material outlined on the book. As an engineer and studio owner, I found this book explained in detail many of the gray areas of modern recording in a comprehensive way. I also gained valuable information about lossless and lossy forms of data compression as well as transmission and playback formats (including AES/EBU, S/PDIF, SDIF-1, SDIF-2, SMDI, MADI and DASH). Other topics include analog vs. digital recording, the physical properties of sound, and digital theory. In a technological world that is changing fast, I found this to be a book that I would recommend to any engineer that would like to brush up on modern digital terminology. Once I cracked open this book, I found it hard to put down. I kept coming back to read and process the information delivered by Gibson. His writing style cuts right to the core of the topics he covers.

This book is as much of a page-turner as you're likely to find in the field of books about audio. It's very well written and the writers are very passionate about their subject matter. While technical...

We reviewed the original version of this book in Tape Op #31, and back then I felt it really helped get me through my introduction to Pro Tools. Now, six years on, Digidesign keeps moving ahead with...

In 1950, a nineteen-year-old college student with an interest in electronics met another student in his dorm who had a vast collection of folk records. Having not heard this kind of music before, Jac...

EASTWEST has grown into quite a juggernaut within the sample library and software instrument market. Originally formed in 1988, the company found success in 1989 when it teamed with Bob Clearmountain...

Warning: For those readers who get upset when we
deviate a bit from matters strictly audio, you should skip ahead to the next microphone review that fits your budget. These next paragraphs will only...

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Vintage King co-founder Michael Nehra shares some of his love, knowledge, and practical advice for diving into the world of vintage audio gear, and then takes us behind the scenes for a walk through...